Prepare for the worst – Makhura

Gauteng Premier David Makhura (Photo: Gallo Images / Felix Dlangamandla)

Covid-19’s assessment has grown rapidly in Gauteng, the epicenter of the pandemic in South Africa, but Prime Minister David Makhura warned that the response should be redoubled as the worst is yet to come.

Nearly 31,000 people have been screened for Covid-19 in Gauteng since March 31, 2020, as the government has trained thousands of community health workers to visit areas with high levels of exposure and vulnerability to the virus, the Thursday Prime Minister David Makhura.

Gauteng continues to have the largest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa. According to figures released by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on April 8, 2020, there were 782 confirmed cases in Gauteng, which is 42% of the country’s 1,845 total.

There have been three Covid-19 related deaths in the province, all males, ages 49, 52, and 79. Two patients are in intensive care units (ICU) in the public sector and five are in ICU in the private sector.

Makhura said that of the 26,841 people screened for the virus since March 31, 2020, 440 showed symptoms and were referred for analysis.

Makhura said 8,005 of the province’s 9,000 community health workers have already been trained in screening tests since President Cyril Ramaphosa Announced The launch of a massive screening and testing campaign.

Makhura said 607 health professionals in Gauteng had also been trained to follow up on contacts, screening and testing.

Gauteng’s mass detection campaign began in Stjwetla in Alexandra, where it was feared that the virus could spread rapidly. Almost 1,700 people were examined in Alexandra and 201 were examined. Only one person tested positive and was quarantined.

“We remain the epicenter and we must do even more in terms of detection. Those numbers are still too small, “said the prime minister.

Dr. Bandile Masuku, from MEC de Salud, said that the screening program prioritizes the areas with the highest number of cases in which people are at greater risk of being exposed and are vulnerable, such as high-density areas. Contact tracing continues and 90% of contacts of people who tested positive in Gauteng have been tracked.

“We can’t even imagine reaching a point where we do a mass detection when the known contacts have not even been contacted,” Masuku said.

For the first time, the Gauteng government provided the daily breakdown of infections by district on April 9.

“If Gauteng is the epicenter of Covid-19 in the republic, Johannesburg is the epicenter of Covid-19 in Gauteng with 440 cases,” said Makhura.

Ekurhuleni continues with 111 cases, Tshwane with 90, West Rand with 12 and Sedibeng with six. Another 123 cases are not assigned as some physicians have been unable to correctly record patient contact details.

“We should not think that we have already overcome it. We must prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Everything we are doing, we do not want complacency. We do not want to start celebrating; we must continue working,” said Makhura.

It has been widely speculated that the blockade will extend beyond April 16, 2020. Makhura said the national government will decide whether to extend the blockade, but warned that the reopening of the OR Tambo International Airport and allowing people to travel to Gauteng could spread even more the virus. .

“All I can tell you is that it would be a profound mistake to think that these numbers where we are now represent where we could be,” he said.

“We should really, really prepare for the situation that could go way above where we are now and we have to be prepared for that.”

Provincial governments have been struggling to acquire personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, and Makhura said the government will prioritize the provision of front-line personnel.

“As we speak now, we have an adequate supply of personal protective clothing for health workers,” he said.

The province is also making additional hospital beds available to treat patients with Covid-19. Tshwane District Hospital has been “successfully decanted,” Masuku said, to provide 240 beds. Isolation beds and ICUs for patients have been made available at Chris Hani Baragwanath, Charlotte Maxeke and Kalafong Hospitals.

The Prime Minister thanked companies, NGOs and religious organizations for supporting efforts to help food-insecure families during the shutdown. He said the province’s food insecurity program had reached 15,000 households, but that it would need to increase its capacity to reach more.

That figure doesn’t include homeless people, many of whom have moved to temporary shelters across the province.

Criminals and arsonists attacked Gauteng schools during the shutdown, and two suspects were arrested in Soshanguve on April 8, 2020 after four schools burned down.

Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “Those two people who have been arrested, we really believe they are going to sing.”

Makhura said he was “disturbed” by the attacks on schools. He suggested that some of the attacks were linked to business forums that wanted to disrupt school projects. DM